What do these items have in common? An apolitical view of the war and the sacrifice these soldiers and their family’s make everyday so this country may remain free.This movie, The Messenger, earned Woody Harrelson a well deserved best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his betrayal of Capt. Tony Stone, an Army causality notification officer. In his final three months of service Officer Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) has just come home from Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty notification service to work together with Capt. Tony Stone. When he is first introduced to Capt. Stone, Harrelson’s character is given a strict set of rules to follow when making one of his house calls. He should knock rather then ring the door bell. He should never talk to anyone but the next-of-kin. Most importantly he should never touch the next-of-kin.
Even if Officer Montgomery (Foster) is a combat veteran and as if he wasn’t carrying scars from his time in Iraq both physical and mental, it would be a difficult assignment. He knows he is a solider and he does what he is told, so he sucks it up and does his best to be all he can be.
What he doesn’t expect is to be touched by the wife and young son of a fallen solider.
The Messenger is a tremendously moving drama filled with heartbreak, humor and more importantly, humanity. These incredible performances provide an apolitical insight into the mental plight of U.S. service members returning from combat.
Another must see film that is worth a viewing is Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon. This is another war movie with virtually no war action. Kevin Bacon plays Marine Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a career military man who early in the Iraq war is analyzing numbers in an office. Lt. Col. Michael Strobl in April of 2004 sees the name of a young Marine from his Colorado hometown, Private First Class Chance Phelps’, on a casualty list. Both men have never met; never the less Strobl asks if he can escort the body home?This is the story of a real life trip from Dover, Del., where Phelps’ body is prepared, to the small Wyoming town where he will be buried. Although there is much controversy and people widely differ on their beliefs of his trip he finds everyone from the pilot, cargo handlers and teenage girl texting next to him on the plane, to the long haired hearse driver. They all understand and respect his mission to provide the last full measure of honor and dignity to someone who has lost their life in war. The film isn’t anti-war or pro-war, that is not the point. Its point is that on the most fundamental matters, Americans and by extension, all people share a common sense of decency and concern. When Lt. Col. Michael Strobl finishes his escort detail for the late Pfc. Phelps, he is surprised to find how much of the experience has stayed with him. Kevin Bacon’s performance is outstanding. Given little dialogue, he has to convey the story with expression, gestures and body language, and he does it masterfully.
Bestselling author Sebastian Junger (of the Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont ) has released a new book. Sebastian Junger is a world class war correspondent and a brilliant writer who can
paint a frighteningly real picture of an Army outpost in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, where Junger spent 5 months over the course of a year and a half with a platoon of young soldiers, fighting a war that we’ve all read about, but that few of us can imagine.The book War is broken down into three sections: “Fear”, “Killing”, and “Love”. All three sections describe combat, but each section is loosely structured around its theme. In “Fear”, Junger analyzes why soldiers may or may not be afraid to fight; in “Killing” we learn why soldiers kill, how they feel about ending the life of an enemy combatant, and how they feel when one of their own receives that fate; in “Love”, Junger makes an attempt to learn why soldiers would die in combat for their comrades. I found this section talks about bravery probably more then the first section. Getting the men to talk about fear was very hard. The biggest worry seemed to be failing the other men in the platoon. If someone was killed, a common reaction was to search their own actions for blame. They did not want to believe that a good man could die for no reason; someone had to be at fault. Many of the soldiers had anxiety that they would fail to do their job and someone else would get killed. The men profiled in this book did not necessarily join the Army to die for their country, although some do. Above all, it’s the strong personal bonds between young men who have been through challenging training and hardship, drive much of what takes place in war, courage, bravery, a willingness to die for your fellow solider. The book has an extensive bibliography that includes up to date literature on killing and combat. Junger spends some time philosophizing about fighting, killing and cognitive processes during battle, and he backs up his writing with multiple studies.
The award winning documentary Restrepo, based upon Junger’s book will open in Chicago on July 2nd.
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